Dawn Staley would have left South Carolina for the Knicks – but thwarted her own shot

Dawn Staley would’ve taken the Knicks coaching job but believes she sabotaged her interview by “asking all those darn questions.”

“I shot myself in the foot by being inquisitive,” the legendary coach of the South Carolina’s women’s team said on the podcast, “Post Moves.”

Staley, 55, was among several candidates to sit with Knicks brass about the vacancy this summer, attempting to become the first woman to serve as head coach of an NBA squad.

“I thought I did pretty well,” she said, applauding her preparation while declaring, “If the Knicks would’ve offered me the job, I would’ve had to do it.”

However, Staley said she unwittingly convinced the Knicks that hiring a woman would bring distractions.

“My other question was, ‘How, if you hired me as the first female coach in the NBA, how would it affect your daily job?’ Because it would. It would,” Staley said. “Because you’re going to be asked questions that you wouldn’t be asked if you hired a male coach. There’s going to be the media and all this stuff you’re going to have to deal with that you didn’t have to deal with or you don’t have to deal with when you hire a male.